Interview with Aaron Singh, a future trainee at Freshfields

In this interview, Bhavana Sathyamurthi interviews Aaron Singh Shira, a future trainee at Freshfields. 

Hi Aaron! Could you please introduce yourself and explain a bit about your legal journey
thus far, including what you’ve been up to since you graduated?

I graduated from Warwick Law this summer, and am a future trainee at Freshfields. My interest
in commercial law started when I was 16. In my first week of sixth form, I randomly Googled the
largest law firms, which was when I first discovered the concept of the ‘Magic Circle’. I was
intrigued by how they worked on cases that had direct political and economic implications. This
then led me to participate in virtual work experiences at Pinsent Masons and Linklaters, and I
really enjoyed the insight I gained about their work! Currently, I am mentoring students from
disadvantaged backgrounds, which I have found to be a rewarding way to help other candidates
through the competitive legal process.

The process of securing a training contract is quite competitive. Can you walk us
through your application and interview experience?

In my first year, I applied for first-year schemes at Herbert Smith Freehills, White & Case and
Linklaters. These programmes equipped me with the necessary tools to better prepare myself
for the next stage of my legal career. I also successfully applied for the Linklaters scholarship (a
great opportunity that I highly recommend!), which gave me a guaranteed place at the
assessment centre for the Linklaters vacation scheme.

However, in my second year, I got rather complacent, so I was unsuccessful in getting a
vacation scheme offer. This made me reflect on my application strategy. Subsequently, I
successfully obtained a place on the Latham & Watkins vacation scheme, as well as the direct
training contract for Freshfields.

Making the decision on which law firms to apply to can be difficult. What advice would
you give other students on how to narrow down which firms to make applications to?

Law Society is a great way to decide which law firms you want to apply to, as it helps you get
some direct interaction with the firms. When it comes to applications, quality really takes
precedence over quantity. I recommend finding 8-10 law firms that you are really interested in,
and make focused and tailored applications for those firms. Personally, Freshfields’ 8-seat
training contract was really attractive, giving me the opportunity to experience a wide range of
legal work, giving me the best possible start to my legal career and equipping me with the tools
to become a great lawyer.

What do you believe made your application stand out and contributed to your success in
securing the training contract?

In my application, I tried to really bring together everything that I had learnt across my
application journey. Make sure you reflect on every experience, whether it be legal or non-legal,
and think about what skills you have gained from each one – every experience will have allowed
you to gain transferable skills that you can talk about!

Commercial awareness is an essential skill to have for any aspiring lawyer. Are there any
resources you would recommend for students to use to improve their commercial
awareness?

I highly recommend the Financial Times’ daily briefing on Spotify – it helps direct you to news
stories you may be interested in. When you read the news, think about how those developments
can affect law firms and their clients. The Commercial Law Academy Handbook is also really
helpful, particularly when it comes to assessment centres.

Following on from that, in your opinion, what is the biggest challenge facing the legal
sector right now?

I think economic uncertainty is a big concern for everyone, particularly due to the conflcit in
Russia, Trump’s proposed tariffs, and the war in the Middle East. This is likely to affect the
deal-making environment as the uncertainty will meant that clients will be less inclined to
engage in deals, so the work for lawyers will slow down. Another emerging challenge is that the
legal sector will be dominated by large American firms, so it will be crucial for firms like
Freshfields to adapt to be able to compete with their US counterparts.

With your training contract secured, what aspect of this next phase in your legal journey
excites you the most?

Honestly, I’m just excited to get into the office! I want to learn everything that I can, and being
surrounded by some of the best minds in the world just makes everything so much more
exciting!

Lastly, if you could offer one piece of advice to anyone currently trying to secure a
vacation scheme and/or training contract, what would it be?

It is a hard process, and there is a lot of luck involved, so keep yourself focused on your end
goal. Make sure that you focus on yourself, don’t compare yourself t